Paulette-Marie Sauvé, m.f.a., painter, tapestry weaver and writer
Born in North Bay, Ontario, Sauvé obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1992, at the Université du Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).
The MFA course included studies in northern Italy.
In the 1970s, she was awarded a government grant to travel to France where she discovered ancient dyes, and tapestry, notably at the Manufacture des Gobelins in Paris.
This inspired her to write two books about the art of creating with natural dyes and fibers.
In 1978, 1979 and 1984 her work was shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Montreal.
She exhibits her work and gives seminars, lectures and workshops in several countries.
She creates commissioned paintings, and her work is found in private and corporate collections.
Grants and awards: in 2002, she received Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 50th Golden Jubilee Medal awarded by The Governor General of Canada.
– grants from the Canada Arts Council, and from the Quebec Minister of Cultural Affairs.
Selected Tapestry Commissions:
In 1984, Sauve was commissioned to weave a tapestry measuring more than 400 square feet for Cadillac Fairview:
“The Toronto Dominion Centre is made up of six buildings in the financial core of Toronto. The architect of the buildings was Mies Van der Rohe.
Within and around the buildings are a variety of artworks all by Canadian artists.
……. Paulette-Marie Sauve’s interpretation of the Canadian landscape is a triptych installed at the Commercial Union Tower.”
Quote from the artist:
My background in textile art and my studio called Atelier Artweave:
I have given lectures, seminars and workshops in the USA, Burkina Faso, Canada and in Israel…”
In 1994 (or 1995?) Shelagh Rogers interviewed Paulette Marie Sauve on CBC radio. She asked Paulette to describe her activities of directing a textile museum situated on Montreal South-shore:
“My work in the 1990’s involved a complete 360 degree process from producing my own materials to creating textile artwork.”
Shelagh Rogers asked Paulette to explain her work of weaving tapestry from wool that came from her husband’s sheep, and then spinning wool and also growing linen and ancient dye plants.
Some of my interesting travels:
“In 2005, I attended the 35th anniversary of Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat-Gan, Israel. I was representing Domestic Converters Inc., the Montreal textile company created by Joshua Ronn.
At Shenkar College, I was invited to give a lecture about my work in textile art, and, was given a tour of the school.
I was most fascinated to meet Professor Zvi C. Koren in the Department of Chemical Engineering, who introduced me to his research in ancient dyes. “
“I was amazed by the beauty of the archeological sites I visited in Jerusalem, and the Bauhaus architecture in Tel Aviv. Back in my studio I made several sketches and paintings about my visit to Israel. I was motivated to study Hebrew, and enrolled in a three year course at Ulpan. I enjoyed having coffee and bagels in downtown Tel Aviv. One of the paintings from this series is called “Tel Aviv Cafe” inspired by a café, situated on Rechov Diezenkoff.
“I was born in North Bay, Ontario, in Anishinaabek-Nipissing territory. My maternal grandfather, Victor Roy, had a great admiration for Aboriginal people. Oddly enough, today the First Peoples’ Centre at Canadore College is located on my grandfather’s former land. Mr. and Mrs. V.G. Roy (Victor and Ida Roy) owned and managed a dairy business, a general store, a lumber factory, a maple syrup industry, and were Canadian representatives for the De Laval dairy equipment company in 1919. One of Victor’s sons, my Uncle Ted Roy, is the co-founder of the Ted Roy Charity Foundation in Lake Arrowhead, California.
I am a painter and tapestry weaver, and was awarded the Master of Fine Arts degree in 1992 at the University of Quebec in Montreal. Over the past three decades my style of painting has consistently reflected my work in woven tapestry, and the surface texture explores the patina and rustic quality of antiques. My architectural works and landscapes are created in mixed media either on canvas, on aluminum or on handmade paper.
Woven fabric, some with digital images, are often imbedded in the background of my paintings. Travels in Europe and the Mid-East have inspired a contemplation of aspects of architecture and mysticism in my work. I paint an elusive image in a sort of narrative, that invokes imagined landscapes and cityscapes, and the textured surface beckons as if artifacts are emerging from the deep. My work is shown in museums and galleries in several countries, and I gave workshops and conferences in the USA, Canada, Africa, Europe and Israel.
For most of my paintings and tapestries, the concept of the work develops during a time of reflection to find a subject and its resonance in my life. Then comes the aesthetic aspect. I do photographic research and create digital photomontages. I study anthropological sources, as well as ethnic and spiritual aspects. Colour offers me the possibility of expressing my emotions. I create a series of sketches with either oil pastels or acrylic on paper, and also with oil or acrylic on canvas. I continue my research on reproducing the colours of light using a variety of pigments, natural dyes and fibers.
CONTEMPORARY TEXTILE ART
Contemporary art tapestry techniques involve a series of very long processes. Many people ask me how I weave tapestries.
It helps to understand all that is involved in turning a painting, first into areas of weave patterns, then into woven cloth or tapestry.
The weave pattern for Gobelins style tapestry is different than the process used for a multi-shaft loom, a Dobby loom or a Jacquard loom.
See my Jacquard loom here:
LINK TO PURCHASE MY BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS / Lien pour l’achat de mes livres et publications:
https://www.paulettesauve.com/product-category/books-documentaries-livres-documents-publies/
CLICK ON IMAGE LINK BELOW TO MUSEUM WEBSITE OF MY VIRTUAL EXHIBITION OF TAPESTRIES & TEXTILE ART AT THE MUSÉE DES MÉTIERS D’ART DU QUÉBEC, MONTRÉAL, 2021 (click on red buttons to view text in English / L’image du site web plus bas est le lien à mon exposition virtuelle: Vibrations sur fibres 21, une rétrospective Paulette-Marie Sauvé au Musée des métiers d’art du Québec:
Vibrations sur fibres 21, Retrospective Paulette-Marie Sauvé
VIDÉOS EN FRANÇAIS DES ENTREVUES AVEC L’ARTISTE, ARTICLES DE PRESSE & MEDIA:
2021-03-08 MUMAQ- ENTREVUE AVEC PAULETTE & FRANÇOISE -, :
L’entrevue seule est disponible pour visionner ou partager, le lien ci-contre:
Media coverage
2021 Derrière les portes des musées de la métropole / Behind the doors of the museums of the metropolis
par / by Marie Pâris, Collaboration spéciale, Le Devoir, 15 mai 2021
2021, 2020, 2019,2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012 Dictionnaire des Artistes Cotes / Drouot: http://paulettesauve.artistes-cotes.com/
http://paulettesauve.guidarts.com/
http://www.dictionnairedesartistescotes.com/
2021, 2020 L’Enclume #15, publication du Musée des métiers d’art du Québec (MUMAQ)
2021-04-14 Entrevue avec Paulette-Marie Sauvé à la Radio, Canal M -Regards croisés -En 2e partie d’émission: https://canalm.vuesetvoix.com/radio/emission/regards-croises/bout
2019 Article sur Paulette-Marie Sauvé, Digital Weaving Norway: https://www.digitalweaving.no/meet-paulette-sauve-in-our-artist-showcase/
2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 – Fleck Fine Art Catalogue, fall-winter, and spring-summer
2013 and 2012 – Elaine Fleck’s Catalog of Contemporary Fine Art, fall-winter, and spring-summer
2005 – 2016 Media, newspapers, gallery shows, magazine articles, and various art events
2004 – The Avmor Collection, published by Avmor Art and Cultural Foundation, Montreal, 2004;
pgs 151, 203 and 209, ISBN 0-9682946-2-6
1994 – “Paulette-Marie Sauvé”, Les arts contemporains au Québec/Contemporary Arts in Quebec, pg 75, by Maurice Soudeyns, Montréal,
Société générale d’édition, 1994, ISBN 2-921228-04-1
1992 -“Paulette-Marie Sauvé, Galerie de l’UQAM”, by Etc Montreal, pg 70, Numéro 18, Printemps 1992, ISSN 0835-7641
1990 – “Paulette Sauvé”, Illudere ou se jouer du trompe-l′oeil, pg 29, by Pierre Ayot, ÉDITIONS NBJ,
1990, ISBN 2-89314-101-3
1980 – Les Oeuvres d’art du ministère des Travaux publics et de l’Approvisionnement,Editeur Officiel du Québec, Gouv. du Québec,1980, ISBN 2-551-04022-1
1984 – Troisième Biennale de tapisserie de Montréal, Canadian Cultural Centre, Paris, 1984, ISBN: 2-920673-00-9
1978 – La Nouvelle tapisserie québécoise, by Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal, Ministère des Affaires culturelles,1978, ISBN 0-7754-3031-5
1979 – Biennale de la nouvelle tapisserie québécoise, by Musée d’art contemporain, Montreal, Ministère des Affaires culturelles,1979, ISBN 2-551-03401-9
2005 – The Art Guide, 2005, The Monthly Review of Exhibitions at Galleries and Museums in New England.
1975- Guy Boulizon, Lecture at the Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art, and publications Les musées du Québec» – (1975), «Le paysage dans la peinture au Québec» – (1984)
1975- Cyril Simard, «Artisanat québécois -1. Les bois et les textiles»,
Montréal : Éditions de l’Homme, c1975 -c1985.
1989 – Réquisition Clandestine, Bulletin-Catalogue, Printemps 1989, Ed. CATQ, Montréal
1992 – En ce temps-là, by Jean Dumont, Le Devoir, samedi 14 mars, 1992, pg C-11
2007 – Fibre Quarterly volume 3 issue 1 winter 2007, Who made that: a question about Public (Textile) Art in Canada?, Fibre Quarterly ISSN-1916-534X Canada
1987 – ART – THE GAZETTE, Montreal, Saturday, June 13, 1987
2012-2013-2014-2015-2016 Artist published in the Larousse Dictionary of Artists/Cotation Drouot:
http://paulettesauve.artistes-cotes.com/
http://paulettesauve.guidarts.com/
Other media events: several radio interviews and television appearances, numerous newspaper and magazine articles, mentioned on various Web sites since 1997.
VIDEOS
2020-09-11 : Vidéo de Paulette-Marie Sauvé dans son jardin de plantes à teintures naturelles
PLANTES TINCTORIALES: 3:12 minutes
2020-09-15 : Vidéo de l’entrevue de Paulette-Marie Sauvé par Françoise Cloutier
CAPSULE JAUNE: 5:53 minutes
CAPSULE ROSE: 8:11 minutes
Thank you to / Merci à Didier Boulad de Studio Couleur-Café pour le tournage et montage des trois vidéos suivants:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Wp9MjZshBMMnmKKQEW303ZgnEgQTyrZL?usp=sharing
TEACHING & CULTURAL ACTIVITIES:
Paulette Marie Sauve gives workshops in visual art and has organized several exhibitions and cultural events.
Her studio activities include, painting in oil and mixed media, weaving tapestry, writing articles and books.
Paulette has published two books in French: “La Teinture Naturelle”, and, “Le Filage”, as well as two CD-ROMs about the history of textile art in New England and New France.
She is a trained volunteer tutor for English Literacy, and a member of the South Shore Reading Council.
Curatorial Work/Travail de curateur:
1992-2004 Director of the Musée-Atelier Calixa-Lavallée, Calixa-Lavallée, QC, J0L 1A0
Interesting Mentors
From 1973 to 1975, I studied Visual Arts at the Institut des Arts Appliques in Montreal.
I created paintings, woven fabric and tapestries, and learned to spin many types of fibres.
In 1974, the Government of Quebec sponsored a one month visit of weaving and tapestry studios in France.
Our group of about 20 students met with several weavers, some of whom exhibited at the Tapestry Biennale in Lausanne, Switzerland.
One of the most impressive meetings was with Jean Dufour, head of the Gobelins Tapestry Dyes department.
He brought us through the 15th century old Savonnerie section of the building, filled with different colored skeins of wool in old stone dye-baths, and hanging from the wooden ceiling beams to dry.
Move to the Country
On my return home, my husband brought me to see a country home with a big barn on a farm that he was looking at on the south shore of Montreal. He knew that I needed a studio with a high ceiling to be able to install a huge Gobelins style tapestry loom.
Claude and I had met in college in Montreal where he was born. We both wanted to leave the city and live in the country. We moved onto a farm near Montreal. We were married a year later. We purchased a few sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, ducks and the barn was filled to capacity with animals.
(see photos below)
So I found another abandoned barn nearby, renovated it, and moved in with my painting and weaving equipement.
Claude, who is a fabulous woodworker and builder of antique furniture, learned how to renovate our 250 year old house. (see photo above)
He gradually became interested in closing his business in Montreal to become a sheep breeder. He raised Suffolk and Dorset sheep to make a good pure-bred flock. (see photo above)
He also made antique furniture for our house, the photo below shows his bath towel cupboard built in 2016.
Research in Textile Arts
In 1976, I studied industrial textile weaving at the Institute of Textile Technology in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.
From 1975 to 1977 I visited the elders in the village to listen to their childhood memories, and ask them about spinning wool and linen. Then I wrote all that I had learned about ancient dyes and spinning fibres. (see photo below)
In 1977, I published two books in French:
“La Teinture Naturelle”, about ancient dyes
“Le Filage”, about spinning all types of fibres.
For more information please contact Paulette:
Email address :paulette@paulettesauve.com